On the heels of an inmate death, a group of about 50 people gathered at the corner of Tulane Avenue and Broad Street Wednesday morning to protest what they see as ongoing violence and poor medical care at Orleans Parish Prison. Among the demonstrators were the mother, girlfriend and daughter of Willie Lee, 40, who died while in custody over the weekend.

The protest was called by the Orleans Parish Prison Reform Coalition, a group of activists and clergy who have for years called for changes at the long troubled jail. The group wants a thorough and transparent investigation into what led to Lee's death, as well as an emergency City Council meeting to address violence in the jail.

The lockup is now under a federal consent decree requiring an overhaul, but critics say change has been too slow. Sheriff Marlin Gusman says he is doing the best he can with dilapidated buildings and not enough funding provided by the mayor and City Council.

"It just seems amazing that a city that's so filled with celebration and joy can ignore the pain that people are having -- not only the people in the jails, but their families," said Lou Furman, a member of the coalition. "Our prison is making the city more unsafe than safe."

Saying the violence in the jail constitutes a crisis, the group also wants the mayor and judges to release the class of minor offenders who are freed when the mayor declares a state of emergency. Signs included "Evacuate OPP Now!" and "OPP is a Category 5" and "No More Bodies in OPP."

The demonstrators marched from the Criminal District Courthouse at Tulane and Broad to the jail's Intake and Processing Center at Perdido and Gayoso streets.

Norris Henderson, director of the Voice of the Ex-Offender advocacy group, said the coalition wants the coroner's office and the district attorney's office to fully investigate the death. "Why is there so much secrecy or cover action about this particular incident?"

The mother said she felt mistreated by the coroner's office, which did not allow her to see Lee's body, and the Sheriff's Office, which did not contact her immediately about the death. "Any mother's going to feel the same way -- they want to see their child," Margie Lee Hulitt said. "He's not a dog. He's a human being."

Lee died of heart failure after a fight with other inmates, according to Sheriff Marlin Gusman's office. The office has not provided any details about the fight or said whether the death will be considered a result of criminal action, citing an ongoing investigation.

Hulitt said she has a number of unanswered questions about his death.

Lee collapsed at 10:35 p.m. Saturday, complaining that he had trouble breathing, Gusman's office said. Lee was taken to Interim LSU Hospital via ambulance and was pronounced dead there at 12:17 a.m. Sunday. A coroner's spokesman said Lee had no signs of trauma to his body.

Lee Hulitt said it wasn't until an inmate called her Sunday that she heard something was wrong. And it wasn't until late Sunday night when Sheriff's Office officials told her her son was dead.

The protesters also called on Orleans Parish Coroner Frank Minyard to allow Hulitt to see her son's body.

Gusman's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.